April 18, 2021

Space Force Wants to Introduce Commercial Capabilities to All Mission Areas (Source: C4ISRnet)
There’s a role for commercial in every mission area of the U.S. Space Force, says the new service’s portfolio architect. While commercial services have played a significant role in the military’s satellite communications and launch enterprises, the Space Force has not integrated commercial services more widely, said Col. Russell Teehan, portfolio architect at the Space and Missile Systems Center. But as the service begins looking at its future plans, it sees industry as a much bigger partner.

“As we go through the force design for the next 10 years, commercial is vital across every mission area,” said Teehan. “In nearly every mission area, we’re looking for rapid tech innovation. We’re looking for hybrid architectures. And in a lot of cases, we’re looking for commercial partnerships that lead us directly to allied partnerships in many of these areas.” (4/16)

Satellite Broadband Market to Reach 5.2 Million Users in 2026, Generate Revenue of $4.1 Billion (Source: Economic Times)
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite broadband services which are touted as the next major leap in broadband technology is forecasted to propel the satellite broadband market to 3.5 million subscribers in 2021, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% to reach 5.2 million subsscribers in 2026, and generate $4.1 billion revenue, according to ABI Research.

Currently, the LEO satellite industry comprises companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Bharti-backed OneWeb, and Canada's Telesat. SpaceX launched Starlink broadband services to residential users in 2020, with 100Mbps broadband speed paired with unlimited data caps. It has so far launched over 1,000 LEO satellites, while OneWeb and Telesat have launched LEO satellites providing connectivity to the business segment. Amazon, which plans to launch LEO constellations named project Kuiper, received FCC approval for its project in mid-2020, although it is yet to confirm the launch date of the first satellite. (4/17)

Mars Helicopter Will Attempt to Fly on Monday (Source: Business Insider)
NASA on Saturday said its Ingenuity helicopter may take flight on Mars as soon as Monday. A flight is planned for 3:30 am EDT after a series of delays pushed the scheduled take-off back. Data is expected to arrive on Earth a few hours later, the agency said in a press release. (4/18)

Russia Joins China's Mission to Sample an Asteroid and Study a Comet (Source: Space.com)
China has selected a Russian science payload to fly on an upcoming mission to sample a near-Earth asteroid and later visit a main-belt comet. China is aiming to launch the ambitious mission around 2024. First, it will collect samples from the small near-Earth asteroid Kamo'oalewa. Then, the spacecraft will return to Earth to deliver the samples and use the planet's gravity to send the spacecraft toward the main asteroid belt to orbit the Comet 133P/Elst–Pizarro. Russia will now join the mission with instruments built by the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. (4/18)

Russia to Decide on Pullout from ISS Since 2025 After Technical Inspection (Source: TASS)
Russia will carry out a technical inspection of the International Space Station and will make a decision on withdrawing from the project since 2025, and will inform its foreign partners. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, the timeframe of the station’s operations has expired and its condition leaves much to be desired. "Lately, reports about technical malfunctions have been coming more often. In order to avoid any risks in case of accidents, it’s necessary to carry out a technical inspection of the station. After this, a decision should be made... And they [partners] should be fairly notified about the withdrawal from the ISS since 2025," Borisov said. (4/18)

Artemis Generation Moonwalkers, Space Station to Use Spacewalk Services Developed Through NASA-Industry Partnerships (Source: NASA)
NASA is preparing to send humans back to the Moon through the Artemis program, not just to walk and explore, but to develop a sustainable presence. The next generation of moonwalkers will need a whole new suite of spacesuits and support systems to enable exploration of the inhospitable environment at the lunar South Pole for the first time.

Just as NASA is embracing new technologies to support moonwalkers, the agency will also embrace a new strategy for procuring the necessary spacesuits, support equipment, and support services. While this approach is new to spacesuit development, NASA is successfully using this strategy today to procure launch services, commercial crew and cargo deliveries to the International Space Station, and delivery of other elements of the Artemis program, including Human Landing System services and Deep Space Logistics.

NASA is seeking industry feedback on this updated strategy to procure exploration spacewalk activity services. The updated strategy enhances NASA’s work to bolster commercially provided services by shifting acquisition of the exploration extravehicular activity (xEVA) system to a model in which NASA will purchase spacesuit services from commercial partners rather than building them in-house with traditional government contracts. NASA needs xEVA suits and capabilities to support the International Space Station and lunar surface missions under Artemis, which will bring humans back to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. (4/14)